“Earth to Dumpy,” he teases, shoving me in the side when I don’t reply. “What the hell is wrong with you, man? I thought you were just worried about me flying off the handle, but I just promised to keep my shit together, and you’re still acting like your mom just died.”

“Not funny,” I mutter with an eye roll.

“Kinda funny,” he insists. “Seriously, though. Something’s got you all twisted up, and for once I don’t think I’m to blame.”

He shifts over on the bed until we’re sitting shoulder to shoulder. He sighs and rests his head against mine, his mass of blond curls immediately tickling my face.

“You need a haircut before next week,” I huff as I readjust my head against his.

“Dumpy…”

I say nothing. But he’s not done pushing.

“Is it Little Wheeler?” he asks, which we both know is pointless. He already knows the answer.

“Just leave it, Field.”

“You can talk to me, bro! We always used to talk about girls.”

We did. Until he fell in love with a married woman. And I fell in love with her much younger sister-in-law.

“She’s not just a girl,” I reply on a sigh.

“She’s only twenty, so technically she is just a girl,” he teases as he rubs his stupid thick head into mine.

I swat at him and shove away from the wall, giving myself space and a second to breathe. I turn around and face him head-on before replying.

“When Maddie and I were in the city this weekend, we ran into Brooke.”

His eyes triple in size. “Brooke-Brooke?”

“What other Brooke do we know?” I smack the side of his head to try and knock some sense into him.

“And how did that make you feel?” he asks in a deep, mocking tone.

“You know I don’t give a shit about Brooke. She didn’t even try and make it work.” We’ve had this conversation a dozen times. I’ve never felt more rooted in my resolve when it comes to my ex.

“But Maddie saw us together and tried to run. Like, literally tried to run out of the bar and back to the hotel without me. She pulled back, and even though we were only ever supposed to be a summer fling, I fucking hate the way this feels.”

His face softens a touch, but he says nothing.

“So now, even though I’m supposed to be drowning in grief and mourning our mom, all I can think about is how I only have a few more weeks with Maddie and how I wish it didn’t have to end. I was on the phone earlier confirming floral arrangements and I spaced out three times because I was thinking about her. I’m panicking. I’m not ready to say goodbye.”